The 40 teams from Mumbai participating in the upcoming Nazir Hoosein Memorial Drive collected for a ceremonial flag off from the historic Liberty theatre.
Organised by Team Firefox, the drive will see the community of Himalayan Rally ex-participants, volunteers, officials and auto aficionados coming together to pay tribute to Indian motorsport legend Nazir Hoosein. As it pays homage to the founder of the fabled Himalayan Rally, the Nazir Hoosein Memorial Drive will fittingly re-trace the route of the 1981 Himalayan Rally, and kick off from Delhi on November 8 – exactly 40 years after the 1981 event.
More than 90 teams will be participating, out of which the 40 teams based in Mumbai were present at the ceremonial flag off on Saturday. The choice of location was an obvious one. The Liberty theatre is a well-known landmark in Mumbai, but it holds a special place in the hearts of all the motorsport enthusiasts in the city, After all, it was owned by Hoosein himself and was home to the conceptualisation and operation of all Himalayan Rallies from 1980-1990. It also housed the office of the Indian Automotive Racing Club (IARC), which was founded by Hoosein in 1971.
Gautam Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director of the Raymond Group, as well as member of the FIA and World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), was the chief guest of the event. Carrying a longstanding passion for motorsport, he’s been a central figure in the racing scene in India.
Also present was Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor of Autocar India. Sorabjee has himself participated in the Himalayan Rally in the past and will joining the convoy for the Nazir Hoosein Memorial Drive as well.
Reflecting on the legacy of the Himalayan Rally, Sorabjee said: “What the Himalayan Rally achieved was really way ahead of its time. In terms of rally organisation it was tough. At that time there were no mobile phones and this set new standards of radio communication. It was just the quality of having an international event of that stature which really set it apart,”
“The Himalayan Rally was actually way ahead of its time. If you think about it, the 1980s for the auto industry was pre-Maruti. It was an age of Ambassadors and Fiats and when you saw those rally cars on the road, it was like something extra terrestrial at point,” he added.
Himalayan Rally officers, marshals and even Ham Radio operators were also present to cherish Hoosein and the Himalayan Rally’s legacy and to cheer the participants. Hoosein’s own daughter and son-in-law, Aranka and Logan, were also in attendance to flag off the drive.
The Nazir Hoosein Memorial Drive, which is also endorsed by the IARC, will run from November 8-12.
About Nazir Hoosein
Nazir Hoosein served as the motorsport administrator and vice-president of the FIA for several years. In 1980, he founded the Himalayan Rally Association and started the Himalayan Rally.
He also was a member of the World Motor Sport Council, the chief steward in the World Rally Championship, and also one of four permanent F1 stewards for many years. He’s fondly regarded by many as being responsible for putting India firmly on the map of international motorsport.
He passed away in 2019, at the age of 78, after a prolonged battle with an illness.